“To be continued,” he murmurs before dropping down.
“Tyler?” I call when he hits the ground.
He looks up at me, expectant, and I bite the inside of my cheek.
“I like you,” I say over the racing of my heart. “A lot. Maybe even more than cheese fries.”
His eyes crinkle at the corners. “I like you a lot too, Six.”
“Are you okay?” Pen asks as she sinks into the seat across from me at the café. “I saw Tyler at prom with Carly. He said it was to save your ass, and—”
“I know. And it was.”
Pen shifts forward, lowering her voice. “What the hell?”
I explain about the letter from my mom, and her face looks more and more shocked. “Are you going to contact her?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” I admit.
“And you and Tyler…”
“We’re good, I think.”
“If he hurts you, I’m going to cut off his balls.”
I grin. “You’re the best.”
Tyler’s letting me in. I felt it last night. But it comes with a price. Every time he lowers that shield and I get further inside, the world that’s not him gets a little blurrier, a little more out of focus.
“How was prom with Brandon?”
Her mouth curves. “It was unexpected… and nice, aside from the whole Tyler thing. The prom part and after.”
“Wait. You fucked Brandon Bowers last night?”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s a huge deal. Was he? A huge deal?”
Pen laughs. “Yes, and he was really sweet.”
I hang on every word, truly happy for my friend.
“All right. Enough about boys. How’s your essay for Columbia?”
I make a face. “I started it. I wondered if they had a performing arts minor. I’ve been putting so much into this musical, and now that it’s really mine, I want more.”
With the window for my application essay in the background on my computer, I do some searching online.
Vanier looks incredible. The acceptance process is rigorous, the odds of being admitted dismal.
But the tug of fascination won’t go away.
“Look who it is.”
My head snaps up as Carly and her minions cross the café to hover over our table.
“How was prom?” I smile. “Your date looked hot.”
“Hope you enjoyed watching him walk out the door.”
“Not as much as I enjoyed watching him walk back in.”
Her face turns purple. She knows what Tyler did but won’t admit it, not in front of her crew. “Too bad you missed the dance, Little Virgin.”
I bite my lip. “The after-party more than made up for it.”
Her hand tightens on the strap of her bag. I want her to know he’s mine. She never had a shot, and now she never will.
“We’re not done,” she breathes. “This thing between us isn’t over until opening night.”
I reach for my tea. “You know what, Carly? I honestly wanted you to like me once. I thought if I did the right thing, you’d approve of me. I’d fit in.”
Her brows pull together in surprise.
“But your family isn’t perfect either,” I continue, thinking of the whispered rumors about her dad’s addiction, her mom’s affairs.
From the way her attention flicks from me to the minions and back, she’s wondering if I know. She’s wondering if they do.
I won’t spill her secrets. We all have them. I’d never hurt anyone like that, no matter what they did to me.
“You could have some compassion,” I tell her, “but instead, you push people down so that no matter how far you fall, you’re still on top.
“This thing between us is over because it takes two people to fight and I’m out.”
I turn back to my computer, catching Pen’s eye on the way.
Once I hear the footsteps fade as Carly and her minions leave, my friend gives in to the grin. “Holy shit, you’re a badass.”
The rest of the day, I study with Pen, swim until my muscles burn, and mess around with some poetry.
But I can’t wait for dinner, because Tyler texted to say he’d be there.
Now he’s sitting across from me, and we’re eating lasagna, and I’d give everything I have if my dad and Haley and Sophie would disappear so I could crawl across the table and ask him to please do that thing with his tongue that makes me want him so. Fucking. Much.
“You need a dye job,” I say between bites. He’s wearing a black Henley that hugs his muscles in a decidedly groan-worthy way, and the blue in his hair’s fading.
Tyler chews thoughtfully, swallows. “You wanna help?”
His voice is sexy. All of him’s sexy.
“Sure.”
“How was prom?” Haley asks Tyler.
“Fine.”
“Better than fine,” I